Garden Update

On the news the weather man said that so far we haven't really seen summer weather this year and it is the middle of June. Yikes, Christmas will be here before we know it, I hope we get summer weather before then. In June, Utah has had 10 of the 13 days, below average temperature. And there are still 2 ski resorts open in Utah. WOW! Sometimes ski resorts are lucky to stay open til Easter. I think I can count on one hand the number of beautiful days of summer we have had this year. Oh well, the garden seems to be doing okay despite the below average temps. Here's proof everything is growing well.

For those of you, I'm included here, who have never seen broccoli grow and harvested here's how it works. The plant starts out tiny, and you can plant when it's cold. I believe I started these back in early April. They get big large leaves and eventually a head starts growing up the middle of the stalk. And then if you look below the head, down the stalk, more heads are starting to grow.

We picked this last night for dinner. My kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE broccoli. They fight over who gets to eat more. I wash it, cut it in spears and steam it for about 5 minutes. Don't overcook it or it's mush (kind of like last nights). Then I drain the remaining water and cut a lemon in half and squeeze lemon juice over it. MMMM! My kids won't eat broccoli when it doesn't have lemon on it, some how it makes it taste different. I use lemon juice on cauliflower, asparagus and broccoli. What's your secret with getting your kids to eat their veggies?

See after we cut the big head off you can see little smaller heads starting to grow. And she really is smiling or saying cheese, just doesn't seem like it in this picture.
And here's the green beans and potatoes. I must be an Idahoan....these things are growing amazingly well! And my guard dog did wonderful guarding the beans. I keep removing him from the garden but the kids keep bringing him back, so I guess he'll stay all season.

My little green thumb herself.

And fruit! Cherries are even turning reddish. The peaches are super small still and so is the tree and for some reason my apple tree never blossomed. Bummed about that, it's a big tree we could have gotten a decent crop. Maybe next year.


I didn't get a picture of the spinach and lettuce. But we have been eating it like crazy and sharing it! It grows so quickly and is so delicious and good for you. Here is a favorite strawberry spinach salad recipe.

1 lg bunch of spinach
10 large firm strawberries
Clean spinach and tear in serving pieces. Add strawberries, cut into pieces. Top with dressing and serve immediately.

Dressing:

1/2 c sugar
1tsp dry mustard
1 c oil
1 tsp salt
1/3 c white wine or vinegar
2 tsp poppy seeds

Mix all dressing ingredients except poppy seeds in blender. Add poppy seeds to dressing at serving time.

Yummy add ins: sliced mushrooms, roasted almond slivers, candy coated pecans, bleu cheese.